The preliminary vote totals from Wednesday, 19 November 2024 election, show that Wayan Koster and Nyoman Giri Prasta (Koster-Prasta), running respectively for Governor and Deputy-Governor of the Province of Bali, have defeated by a large margin Made Muliawan Arya and Putu Agus Suradnyana (Mulia-PAS). Based on the preliminary real count, Koster-Prasta has claimed the race with 61,44% of the vote.
The early quick count is based on votes tabulated from 6,092 Bali Polling Stations (TPS), representing 89.65% of the total 6,795 polling places established across the Province.
The Koster-Giri Ticket representing the PDI-P Party secured a preliminary tally of 1,267,001 votes (62.44%), while Mulia-PAS of the Gerinda Party received 795,018 votes (38.56%). The Gerinda Party is nationally chaired by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
With 89.65% of the votes counted, Bali’s incumbent, Governor Wayan Koster, has claimed victory, saying any remaining ballots, primarily from the Regencies of Buleleleng (North Bali) and Gianyar (Central Bali), will not alter the voting trend in what is essentially a landslide victory.
Meanwhile, Made Muliawan Arya (De Gadjah) and Putu Agus Suradnyana have ceded the race to Koster-Prasta, acknowledging the final count will not upend the substantial lead held by the PDI candidates.
“This means that so far, we have fought as hard as we can; we have fought with all our efforts, and we have fought with our resources. So, while not 100 percent of the polling places (TPS) have reported in, 80 percent of the votes are counted, and it won’t be easy to catch up. We therefore congratulate Mr. Koster and Giri Prasta,” said De Gadjah, conceding the race.
“De Gadjah” continued by saying he hopes Koster and Giri will successfully carry out their duties as public servants and be more pro-people. The former Deputy Chairman of the Denpasar DPRD asked Koster-Giri to be responsible for their programs and campaign promises.
Saying he was relieved that the Governor’s race has ended, De Gadja added: “We guarantee there will be no friction in our social media; we guarantee that as our promise. Struggle is struggle, struggle for better change, meaning that the will of the people, the mandate of the people, have indeed chosen him (Koster). We are grateful to have been given the opportunity in this competition, and we will continue to fight for the people’s interests.”
Koster-Giri won the majority of votes in eight regencies of Bali. The City of Denpasar was virtually a dead draw, with Koster Giri garnering 50.05% and Mulia-PAS 49.95%.
I Wayan Koster
Wayan Koster (62), served as Governor of Bali from 2018 until 2023 before his reelection for a second five-year term on 27 November 2024. Born in Singaraja, North Bali, in 1962, he holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the prestigious Bandung Institute of Technology (1987), a master’s degree from the International Golden Institute (1995), and a doctorate from the Jakarta State University (1999).
He served as a member of the People’s Representative Council for three terms from 2004 until 2018, when he resigned to successfully run for Bali’s Governorship.
While serving as Bali’s Governor, he launched a plan on plastic, championed local Arak alcohol production and consumption, and canceled Bali’s participation in the FIFA U-20 World Cup to protest the possible involvement of Israeli athletes in match play.
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